Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, is approaching a pivotal moment in a long legal journey in the United Kingdom. The High Court in England and Wales is set to hear arguments to determine whether his extradition to the United States should proceed, where he faces a potential sentence of up to 175 years for publishing thousands of classified Pentagon documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The journalist’s defense, citing health risks and security concerns, has warned that extradition could severely impact his physical and mental well-being and has alleged insufficient assurances from the U.S. government to guarantee his safety.
Stella Assange, his wife and legal representative, has described the proceedings as a form of “mafia-like” aggression and framed them as an attack on press freedom. She reminded reporters in London last week that exposing state crimes should not be criminalized. The defense plans to argue that the alleged assassination plots against Assange, supposedly instigated by the CIA and its then-director Mike Pompeo between 2017 and 2018, would put his life at serious risk if extradited.
Extradition Agreement
Beyond health concerns, the defense contends that handing over Assange to the United States would breach Article 4 of the extradition treaty with the UK, which bars returns for political offenses. If the judges accept these points, the founder of WikiLeaks could continue to appeal in British courts, while a ruling against him would shut down legal avenues in the U.K. and push the matter to appeal before the European Court of Human Rights, with Rule 39 potentially granting a temporary halt to extradition.
Assange, an Australian national, sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012 to avoid a possible extradition to Sweden over a sexual misconduct case that was eventually dropped. In 2019, after Ecuador withdrew its protection, he was arrested by British police and later transferred to Belmarsh, a high-security facility, where he remains while the extradition decision to the United States is pending over allegations tied to espionage laws. If extradition proceeds, this could mark the first time a journalist faces trial for breaching espionage statutes in the United States.
International Response
Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), have denounced the case as an attack on press freedom and urged the United States to drop charges. “The government must end this judicial ordeal by dropping the case against Assange, which has stretched for years, and cease the ongoing persecution for publishing information of public interest,” said RSF’s campaign director Rebecca Vincent in a recent briefing with foreign correspondents in London. [Source attribution: RSF statements and Amnesty International campaigns.]
C nearly a dozen countries, eight of them European, have voiced opposition to extradition. Australia, for instance, saw Parliament pass a resolution urging the case’s closure and the journalist’s return home in a bid to pressure Washington. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Attorney General Mark Dreyfus conveyed their appeals to U.S. counterparts during visits last year, though there is no sign they will shape the outcome. The ultimate decision rests with British judges, who could issue a ruling within the week.